Our packages include an accurate listing of the ingredients in our products. If an allergen is present in the product it is declared in the ingredient statement. We do not use peanuts/nuts/treenuts/milk/soy/fish or shellfish in our pasta plants.

We follow the proposed rule in the Federal Register (72 FR 7295) that tests for gluten at the 20ppm level. While we do not have dedicated equipment for our Gluten Free Pasta, we have a very detailed protocol in place to prevent cross contamination to ensure safety for consumption. The gluten level of the product is verified to ensure that it does not exceed 20 parts per million. To learn more about our gluten free cleaning procedures, read our Manufacturing Process.

1. The date code is set in a MMDDYY format. The first two numbers represent the month, the next two represent the date and the last two represent the year.

2. The date code is set in DD MMM YYYY format. The first two numbers represent the date, the next three alphabetic letters are representative of the month and the last four numbers represent the year. In both cases, the letter and number following the date code represent the shift and manufacturing facility in which the product was made.

For a product to be called "whole wheat,” the grain component must be 100% whole wheat, meaning no refined semolina or flour is used. Products can be called “whole grain” if they are made from at least 51% whole wheat or other whole grains; the remaining portion may be refined grains or other ingredients. A product can be 100% whole wheat and 100% whole grain.

The vitamins in Enriched Macaroni Products are added to replace some of the vitamins and minerals that are lost during the process of milling semolina. Enriched Macaroni Products are defined by the FDA.

We currently do not test our products for Glycemic Index. The Glycemic Research Institute lists pasta at a low Glycemic Index of 55. For more information, read our article on Glycemic Index or visit www.glycemic.com.

Not all pastas that call themselves whole grain are 100% whole grain. Most other whole grain pastas only have 51% whole grain and use other ingredients to make up the remaining 49%. Heartland 100% Whole Grain has one single ingredient—durum wheat.